Creagh underwent routine surgery on his knee after the Dragons round three victory over South Sydney at the SCG and expected to be sidelined for three to four weeks.

However – in a scenario similar to the one that prematurely ended premiership winning teammate Dean Young’s career – Creagh developed an infection in the joint requiring further surgery and an indefinite period on the sidelines.

The 31-year-old admits his 270-game NRL career flashed before his eyes in the weeks following the first operation.

“Two weeks after the first [surgery] the doctors kept telling me this is how you're knees going to be and I thought, 'I'm not going to be able to play again, I'm not going to be able to run again'. I was struggling to walk around,” Creagh said.

“It was only supposed to be a three-week injury, go in there clean it out and I’d be back to play the Titans in round seven.

“Unfortunately there were some complications from surgery and I had to go back in there again and fix a few things. 

“There was an infection in the joint from the first surgery so they had to go back in there and flush it out. 

“I’m glad they found what was wrong after the first surgery and were able to fix it but it’s set me back a long way now.

“Once you’re off your leg and your not using it for that amount of time the muscle just wastes away and that’s the biggest thing to try and get all that back. 

“That’s not easy when the joint’s already pretty sore and bit old so that’s why it’s taking me so long. 

“I wish I could say I’m playing in three weeks time but I really can’t because it’s still week by week with me. It’s how I progress out on the grass, how my running’s going, how my strengths growing.

“So far that’s getting better every week. Unfortunately it’s slower than I would like but hopefully it’s not too long.”

The setback couldn’t have come at a worse time for Creagh who is off-contract and in the twilight of his career. He said it’s no time to be making any decisions on his future.

“There’s been no talks about next year. I need to wait until I’m back playing again then I’ll talk to Mary [Paul McGregor] about what he wants to do and what I want to do,” Creagh said.

“Mary’s been a great support for me, told me to take my time get my leg right and we’ll talk about it once I start playing again.

“Having most of the season off is not good when you’re off contract and thinking about retirement but that’s how the cards have fallen in my lap for now.

“I think now it’s just to see how my knee responds to all this time off and see how the body responds to all this time off as well. 

“We’ll see how the  knee goes when I’m back playing again and that’ll make my decision pretty easy I think.”